Creating Community | Rashyeda (Auntie Rocky) Lewis
Blog post written by Khatira Darvesh
What started with simple conversations about body image, weight and how to help young girls and boys prepare for college, has developed into a non-profit that brings the neighborhood together through various events, creating a sense of community.
Rasheyida, or Aunty Rocky as she is called in the community, established her non-profit, the Lewis Connection, in February of 2022 after working within her community independently for many years by mentoring youth, organizing college prep drives in the community, etc.
One of her first big projects was a neighborhood block party where she was able to connect with businesses to donate items needed for college, such as laptops, bedding, toiletries, and bikes. With these donations they were able to serve over 120 students. She was also able to connect with small businesses such as food trucks, gaming trucks, and a truck that provided mani/pedis to make the party even more enjoyable. There were giveaways and games, free face painting and most importantly, community volunteers who came out and made all this possible. The block party was designed not only to serve low-income future college students but brought the neighborhood together, ignighting positive change and creating a sense of community and belonging. It showed them what they can collectively achieve.
From there, Auntie Rocky founded the Lewis Connection to support her community further. Let’s Choose Love connected with Auntie Rocky in 2022 to support one of the Lewis Connection projects, Skinny Girls Don’t Get It, which aims to empower plus-sized girls between the ages 13-18 through mentorship, coaching and education.
Q: How did you start Skinny Girls Don’t Get It?
A: I suffered from obesity for most of my life and having to deal with that and not having a supportive circle has been difficult. In addition to that I watched my daughter and some of her friends also go through the same challenges. I thought a lot about some of the things I had gone through. My daughter never wanted to go to her dances and had almost decided not to go to senior prom because of insecurities around her weight. So, I pulled together some women and started discussing this issue. People have tendencies, especially young people, they can be mean to each other. It was not having that supportive circle to build their self-esteem that was the issue. And a lot of obesity is not necessarily due to just sitting around and eating all the time, some of it is medical, some of it is mental, anxiety, life situation…things happen that change how your body works. And so, we just wanted to create a safe space for young girls between the ages of 9 and almost to 21 to help them understand, encourage them, show them how beautiful they are. We want to show them entrepreneurs who look like them, show them girls who have gone to school who like them, fitness women who look like them, women leaders who look like them. We wanted to create a space where they can come together and see these powerful women who look like them and understand that regardless of their weight issues, it doesn’t change who you can become. So, this was the focus behind the Skinny Girls Don’t Get It movement. What started as a project has turned into a Movement.
Q: Why is this project important to you?
A: I have always been, I am a gap filler – that is what my husband calls me. I struggle seeing others struggle. Wherever I see a gap or need I’ve always tried to fill that gap myself.
The Skinny Girls Don’t Get It project is important to me because it hits close to home because it was me. I didn’t have that support system. And you always think about the things that you didn’t have. Even growing up in a household full of women, we didn’t talk too much about being big girls. So, I went through my struggles alone. And watching my daughter going through some of these struggles, it is difficult. With high school girls it was especially challenging as they are already in that transition phase of becoming adults. So, in high school you are really looking at developing some of those connections, connecting with people with whom you might go to college, etc. but with COVID in the past couple of years, they missed that opportunity. So, when schools opened back up it was difficult to go back.
Q: What impact do you expect this project to have in your community?
A: I expect the Skinny Girls Don’t Get it project to not only help the girls gain more self confidence but also help the community and the neighborhood become more aware of each other. The work that we have done so far and are continuing to do in the community is already bringing the community together. I have seen a lot of them now communicating, coming together, and helping each other. We grew up in neighborhoods where you stay in your house and don’t worry about others because that is what keeps you safe. The event that we hosted brought people out and forced them to interact with each other. So even for Halloween this neighborhood decided to block the street into a trunk-o-treat. They called me to help organize, and it is amazing – because we were able to come together, now the parents are working together and helping each other get what they need.
I am already seeing a change in the girls with whom I am working right now. They are becoming more confident, more willing to help in the community. For thanksgiving we went out and took some of the girls with us and paid for people’s groceries. Giving them the feel of helping someone else because it brings out a different level of excitement… it helps them to feel more confident in who they are.
Q: What are your plans for the project/your journey in the future?
A: In 2023, we plan to launch the Skinny Girls Don’t Get It project. It will consist of monthly workshops and serve between 30-40 girls. The series will last between 7-8 months throughout the year. The project will kick off with the first session on fitness where fitness instructors who look like the participants will come and discuss fitness and health.
The goal of each session is to not only be educational but also to create visibility – show girls who are struggling with self-esteem issues due to their weight that the size of their body does not dictate their worth.
Q: What have you learned through this journey?
A: The city and the state have resources that are available to the public, but the community can’t get to them – it is not easily accessible. So, when you do something right at the heart of the community, we have people coming from everywhere. And these are all the people who needed these resources for their children.
This whole non-profit thing has changed my life. My whole desire and heart have always been to give to the community and just being in the position to do so and gather the resources to do some of these other projects has been amazing. I have found that there are things that the community needs, or at least this area, and there are resources that I have been able to gather to help them. While it started out wanting to help out just girls, it has shifted where I am helping out the community in general while trying to plan the Skinny Girls Don’t Get it project. It has been an exciting journey.
Q: What else would you like to tell people?
A: I want people to pray for the hearts and minds of these young girls because a lot of it is a mind-battle - and prayer changes things. I strongly believe in it and encourage people to continue to pray for each other. With the same breath and the wording that you use to talk about somebody, use those same words to pray. If someone comes to you and starts talking about somebody, flip the conversation and just say let’s pray for them. Think about what positive wording can you speak into the atmosphere that may change someone’s whole dynamic of life. Because sometimes it is just about what you put out there.
Skinny Girl’s Don’t Get It will launch in February, 2023 in Michigan.
You can connect with Auntie Rocky on facebook and Instagram and check out the Lewis Connection website for more information on the project.
